Background to the Research

• The settlement of Jews in Ireland can be traced to the early Norman Period. In Northern Ireland, settlement dates back to the seventeenth century.
• By 1861 the Census revealed that there were nearly 400 Jews living in Ireland, the vast majority in Dublin. It is thought that between 50 and 60 Jews were resident in the North of Ireland, mainly in Belfast. The first Synagogue in Belfast was built in 1869.
• Documentary history of the early Jewish settlement in Northern Ireland is sparse. The first Jewish immigrants to Northern Ireland were linen merchants from Hamburg, Germany.
• Jews are one of the most established minority groups within the Province, even though the size of the community has varied over time.
• The Jewish community reached its peak numbers in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s with 365 Households, estimated at approximately 1500 individuals. From then onwards the community steadily contracted in size so that, by 1997, the community had been reduced to 140 Households, consisting of 230 individuals of all ages.
• Maintaining unity has been a primary goal within the government of the community, and they possess a collective sense of identity.
  

Research Approach

• Two types of data are used in the study, oral in-depth interviews and documents originating from within the Jewish community.
• Respondents were recruited on an ongoing ad hoc basis and were not selected through any random sampling procedure.
• 60 interviews were conducted using an in-depth open interview format and were tape-recorded with permission from the respondents.
• Individual names and identities have not been revealed due to a commitment to maintain confidentially and anonymity.
• A number of themes were concentrated on: family of origin, religiosity, significant others, education, occupation, social life, marriage, the community, and relations with the wider world.
• The theoretical viewpoint adopted is based broadly around a social interactionist perspective whereby the emphasis is on identifying commonly held subjective meanings and understandings of life experiences within, and without, the Jewish community of Northern Ireland.
• The aim of the research was to gain a multi-dimensional understanding of the Jewish community, and to outline the pattern of settlement and development within Northern Ireland.
  

Main Findings

• The interviews with respondents revealed that Jewish communities had to develop their own organisations because they were often excluded from those in the wider world and, even if they weren't, the religious requirements of Jews is such that it was necessary to have organisations to provide for these special needs.
• While many distinctive cultural features have been retained, the overwhelming impression is of an ethnic minority which has integrated and assimilated with its host society.
• The decline in numbers of Jews coming to Northern Ireland can, in part, be attributed to 'the troubles', as one respondent stated: 'It was clear that by 1974 business opportunities were going to be very limited given the continued level of violence and disruption. I had the opportunity to sell my business and set up another in London. I took the opportunity whilst I could.'
• The interviews undertaken with Jews from Northern Ireland produced little, if any, substantive evidence of anti-Semitism. However, to suggest that Jews are not conscious of anti-Semitism as a real possibility would be very simplistic.
• There is a strong link between Christian fundamentalism and its emphasis on both Old and New Testaments as a source of religious belief and truth to provide an obvious linkage with the Jewish community.
• The Jewish community has been successful in establishing an appropriate social distance from the political process, as they are not seen to be taking sides.

Conclusion

• The contemporary situation within the Jewish community in Northern Ireland can best be described as being essentially concerned with the status quo.
• Jews have proven over the years that they can adapt to social change. However, that is not to say that their decline in numbers in recent years, along with social change, has not been difficult. Their increasing reliance, based upon self-help and voluntarism, illustrates their cultural resilience at adapting to change in their lives, and possibly explains the reason for their longevity in other countries.